When You Were With Me
by Cheeseburger of Doom
Summary: [AU, SanadaKaido] Sanada left his gang to try and lead a normal life, after the death of his lover. [complete]
1. Part 1

A/N: My sister and I were watching some Rikkai, and I happened to mention something about Sanada, which led my sister drawing a certain picture, which led to me thinking "How could I get those two together?" which led to a lot of ideas, which will lead to...a long series of stories, about random people and highly crack pairings.

This is the first in that series. It's an alternate universe, in which everyone is messed up and/or depressed and/or psychotic -- and all of them are in some sort of gang. 

Warnings: Character death(s), violence, much angst, immoral bad crap...etc. (It's about street gangs, after all) The language should probably be a lot fouler, considering the situation, but I don't like to use a lot of swearing, so it'll be mild.

I'm going to call this series "Warlords" and I present to you the first part of the first tale of tragedy, romance, and etc...

When You Were With Me 

Part 1

Cigarettes really tasted like crap, and they would probably kill him in the end; but at least he wasn't smoking anything worse anymore. That would have killed him a lot faster. If he decided in the near future that he wanted to live for a long time, then he might try and kick the nicotine addiction. For now, the cigarettes were the only comfort he had, even if he could barely afford them.

Sanada could barely afford anything anymore. It was hard to get a decent job after being the leader of a gang of thugs for so long. He was a bit rough around the edges, and no one wanted to hire a twenty year old punk who'd never finished high school. He had a good deal of life experience, but none of it looked very good on a resume. Struggling to survive in the dangerous world that he existed in was something that most "normal" people looked down upon. None of them had any idea.

Sanada had grown up in that dangerous world. His parents had belonged to the gang. When he was very small, they'd both died in a fight, and he'd been adopted by the gang leader. When he died, Sanada took over.

Sanada hated that world. He hated the fighting most of all. It seemed so stupid to fight to the death with members of rival gangs, when they couldn't even remember what they were fighting about. There were four main gangs in the city, and they all wanted each other out of the picture.

Sanada had always wanted out, but it was the only life he knew. There were people counting on him to help them survive, by leading them. It was his responsibility to look out for them. If he got out, what would he do? Where would he go? This was his life.

It had taken the death of the most beautiful man he'd ever known to open his eyes to reality. The dangerous world he lived in was not fit for any human being, and even if there was no future for him, he was going to get out.

He'd left them behind, and run away. He couldn't leave the city, and he knew that one day they were going to find him. Anyone who left the gang died -- that was the rule. Sanada's days were numbered, but he had no regrets. He was living in a different world now, a world not ruled by death. 

Yukimura had always wanted out, but he'd been just like Sanada; he hadn't known anything else. His dying wish had been for Sanada to find out what it was like to be normal.

That was the reason that Sanada was smoking cigarettes instead of something stronger, as he walked down the street to his rundown apartment, instead of on his motorcycle fighting with a fellow human being that he had nothing against.

His future looked pretty bleak, but it was an improvement on the past.

He only wished that Yukimura was still alive, so that they could see that bleak future together.

Sanada wanted to give up looking for a job, but he knew that if he did that, his landlord would kick him out. He was living rent-free for only a few weeks, because he assured the landlord he would be able to pay him very soon. It helped that the landlord was an old friend of his father's, before his father had joined the gang and disappeared from the face of the Earth. Sanada never told the man what had really happened to his father; he made up a pathetic story about how he'd gone overseas to find himself, met the love of his life, had returned to Japan and then died of a rare disease, blah blah blah. Sanada had always been fairly good at lying; it came in handy when trying to stay alive.

He hated lying, though, and he hated cheating the old man, but he had to live somehow. He had to survive, for Yukimura.

The landlord was a very nice man, but even he had his limits. If Sanada didn't come up with some money soon, he was going to be out on the streets again. If that happened, he would have no choice but to go back to his old ways, and then all his efforts would be in vain. He would rather die than let that happen.

He was so lost in thought on that cold night that he almost missed the fallen figure. It was the scent of blood that caught his attention. He knew that scent all too well, and wished that he could forget it. He wished that he had never learned that scent in the first place.

There was a body in the alley. It was broken, and bloody, and Sanada did not really think that it could be alive. He wanted to leave it behind for someone else to find. If he was caught with a body, then the police would have him for sure. They were out for all of the gang leaders, and even though he was no longer one, they wouldn't care. He'd done so many terrible things after all; maybe he should just give himself up...

The body moved, ever so slightly, and Sanada heard it groan. He knelt beside it, and felt for a pulse. It was faint, but the almost-corpse's heart must have been beating. He rolled the body over a little, and found that it was a man. A very young man, probably close to Sanada's age. His face was terribly battered, but he would probably have been attractive, had he been in one piece.

"Hang on. I'll call an ambulance," Sanada said. He'd left people to die before, but he wasn't about to do it now. He wanted to become a different man. He wanted to help the world a little, instead of just existing in it.

"No!"

"You're hurt --"

"I can't let anyone find me," the man said. "I can't..." 

He couldn't finish his sentence, because he was out cold. Sanada noticed the bandana on his head -- it looked to be in the same pattern as one of Sanada's former rival gangs. If this man was taken to a hospital, he would be recognized for sure.

Sanada had tried to hate his rival gangs on a regular basis, but he had never really been able to. They were people just like he was, fighting to survive. He'd never understood why that survival involved killing one another, but it had. The fighting was always different, depending on who was the leader of what gang at a certain time, but it was always there. The gang wars. They would never end.

Neither would the things that the gangs did to the rest of the world. Stealing, drug pushing, even murder. Though murder was rare, it did happen. Sanada had never allowed it to happen with any of his gang, but sometimes...

Sanada had picked up the man before he even realized he was doing it. He carefully gathered the injured man in his arms, and resumed his walk home. He would take care of the poor man, even if he was from a rival gang.

Sanada was not in a gang anymore.

If the man wanted to kill him when he woke up, then so be it. Sanada could handle just one man. Maybe he would even let the injured one kill him. It seemed a fitting end for a former gang leader, to be killed by a rival that he'd rescued.

Very fitting, indeed.

TBC


	2. Part 2

Part 2

Sanada hoped that the pathetic creature that he'd rescued was going to wake up soon, because he couldn't afford to look after him for much longer. He suspected that the man might be in a coma, but there was really nothing he could do for him. 

He bathed the man's wounds and bound them, and changed the bindings every so often. He'd done as much many times for various members of his gang after they'd been fighting. He had never seen anyone this badly broken survive, but he was going to do his damned best to make sure that the bandana-wearing stranger pulled through.

It was three days later that the patient actually woke. Sanada was dozing off in his usual place beside him, and heard him stirring.

"Where am I?" The voice was barely above a whisper. Sanada was sure that it must hurt to talk.

"My apartment. I've been trying to help you."

"Why?"

"I couldn't leave you for dead, and you wouldn't let me call a hospital."

"I wanted to die," the man said. 

Sanada knew how that felt. It was hard for him to wake up in the morning, knowing that Yukimura was not going to be there to greet him; knowing that he would have to go on, all alone, in a world he knew nothing about...

"I'm sorry," Sanada said. "I guess fate doesn't like either of us."

The man was unconscious again. This time he was merely asleep, and Sanada knew for sure that he would live.

He wondered what the man would say when he realized who Sanada was.

"What is your name?" Sanada asked, as he cleaned the wounds on the injured man's back. He was not exactly good at making conversation, but he had to say something to break the tension in the air. The bandana-clad man was obviously not the type who appreciated depending on anyone, as the attention he was getting from Sanada seemed to be making him very uncomfortable. He was incredibly tense. He had no choice but to accept that help, though.

"Kaido," the man replied. At least now Sanada knew what to call him. That would make things a little easier. Not that they ever talked much. Kaido slept most of the time, and had been so out of it the past couple of days that this was the first time he was coherent enough to actually give his name.

"Can you tell me what happened to you?" Sanada asked. 

"I told my leader that I wanted to leave the gang, and he didn't like it much," Kaido replied. Sanada was surprised at the honesty. 

"You're Sanada, aren't you?"

Sanada paused in the middle of re-bandaging Kaido's back. "How did you know that?"

"I've seen you before, and the old leader used to talk about you a lot," Kaido replied. "He always said good things about you, and how you wanted to change everything. I always respected you, because he respected you."

"Who was your leader?"

"Inui."

Sanada remembered Inui. He had been as reluctant to fight as Sanada himself, and they'd never engaged in a fight. They'd reached an agreement to stay away from each other. It was fighting against nature, but it had felt damn good, really.

"I take it that he isn't the leader anymore?"

"The new leader killed him." Kaido's voice was flat, but there was obviously pain in it. "Hiyoshi is a bastard, and he should never have won that fight."

"I'm sorry." Sanada meant it with all his heart. Leaders like that were rare, and it would probably be a long time before any of the gangs saw any peace again.

"I told Hiyoshi I wasn't going to follow him, and he had the rest beat the shit out of me." It seemed almost like Kaido was talking to himself. Maybe he had forgotten Sanada's presence.

Sanada finished with the bandages, and let his hand rest on Kaido's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

"So am I." Kaido brushed the hand away. "Why didn't you leave me to die?"

"Because you're a human just like I am," Sanada replied. 

Kaido looked back at him with the saddest eyes that Sanada had ever seen. "Why doesn't anyone else realize that?"

Sanada had no answer. He had a feeling that his eyes were almost as sad as Kaido's. He hadn't looked in a mirror for years, though. He didn't want to know.

"You're going to have to stop wearing that bandana," Sanada said. It was a struggle to make conversation. He had never been good at conversation. Yukimura had always...No, he wouldn't think about that now. "They'll find you if you don't."

"I know they will. They've all stopped wearing it, on Hiyoshi's orders. They were Inui's idea."

Kaido spoke of his former leader almost as if -- Well, Sanada was no stranger to that emotion, and it would explain the reason that Kaido was so bitter. It was not unusual for a gang leader to be killed by another member. That was how new leaders were made.

"I don't want to give it up. It reminds me of him."

Sanada understood, but he had no words of comfort. Kaido removed the bandana from his head, and rubbed it against his cheek. 

"I want to hold onto it for just a little longer."

"As long as you stay here, wear it," Sanada said. "They won't find you here."

"Thank you. I don't know why you're bothering, but I'm grateful...even if I'd rather be dead."

"That's not what Inui would have wanted," Sanada said. He hated such words; words of comfort, encouragement, whatever...he was not good at expressing himself. Yukimura had always...always...

Yukimura had always been there, and now he wasn't.

"I know it isn't, but it's so hard to be left behind," Kaido said quietly.

"I know it is," Sanada said. There was no more conversation that day. They were both lost in their memories.

"I can't stay here forever."

The comment took Sanada by surprise. Kaido looked over at him from his usual seat on the window sill. 

"I've been imposing long enough."

"You're not fully healed yet," Sanada said. Kaido couldn't even walk without his help.

"I don't want to depend on you anymore," Kaido said. "I'll disappear."

"You'll die in less than an hour out there," Sanada said. "Stay until you can fend for yourself, at least."

"I couldn't --"

"You can." Sanada was not in the mood for an argument. 

"Sanada --"

"I made the choice to pick you up off the street," Sanada said. "Stop worrying."

"I don't know how I can repay you."

"Just get well."

"I don't want to be in your debt."

"I just told you that you won't be."

Kaido clenched his fists. "I'm from a rival gang!"

"Neither of us belong to any gang anymore," Sanada said.

"You're a stubborn bastard, aren't you?" Kaido sounded a touch bitter.

"So are you."

Kaido couldn't deny that. "What if they find me here? They'll kill you."

"I don't care if I die," Sanada said. "I'm only living now because someone wanted it that way."

"Did you love him?"

Sanada nodded. He didn't ask Kaido how he knew it was a "him"; they understood each other very well, sometimes. They had much in common.

"I loved him more than anything else."

Kaido sighed. "More than anything else...Why was I born who I am?"

"I wish I knew that answer," Sanada said. It was something that he very badly wanted to know.

Kaido's wounds continued to heal. The ones on the outside, at least. He was able to do more for himself, and soon, he was walking without leaning on Sanada. He was very relieved when his wounds were healed enough that he could stand to be in the shower with the water pouring down on him, instead of having Sanada wipe him down with a cloth.

When Kaido came out of the bathroom that day with a towel around his waist, and his hair hanging wet in his face, Sanada could finally see just how attractive he really was.

He didn't want to notice. He didn't want to betray Yukimura's memory; but he couldn't help but notice, anyway.

Kaido noticed him staring. A blush spread across his face, and he turned away. "Are the scars that bad?"

"I wasn't looking at your scars." Sanada realized what that sounded like only after he had said it. "I --"

Kaido looked his way again. He was blushing more fiercely, now. "You're lonely, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Is that why?"

"Maybe a little," Sanada admitted. 

There was an awkward silence. "Tell me the truth, are the scars bad?"

Sanada shook his head. "It looks like you went through a rough time, but they don't ruin your looks."

Kaido's face couldn't get any redder. "Do you mind if I borrow some clothes? Mine are shot."

"I'll try to find something for you." Anything to tear his eyes away from the sight before him. 

This situation was going to become difficult, he knew. 

__

Yukimura...I'll never love anyone like I loved you, but...I'm still alive, and I get lonely. Are you lonely, wherever you are?

TBC


	3. Part 3

Part 3

"When did you become the leader of your gang?" Kaido asked. He had been curious about that fact for quite a while, but he'd never had the nerve to ask about Sanada's life before. 

"When I was fifteen," Sanada replied. Kaido hadn't really expected an answer, so the words surprised him.

"You were young."

"The former leader was old." Sanada shrugged. "I grew up fast, anyway."

"We all do."

Kaido had been living with Sanada for two months. Sanada had finally found a job, and though it did not pay very well, he was able to live, at least, and support Kaido. Kaido would be well enough soon to get a job of his own, and he swore that was what he was going to do. It seemed that Sanada was not going to kick him out anytime soon, and the truth was, he had nowhere else to go.

"We all grow up fast because we don't live very long." Sanada sighed. "The gangs are dying out faster than ever."

"It's because there are no women, anymore." Kaido didn't know why exactly that was, but gang members did not seek out mates anymore. Not female ones, in any case.

"Maybe everyone wants it to end, deep down," Sanada said. "Or maybe it's fate, making us all prefer men so that the gangs can't keep going."

"That's a good thing."

"I know."

Their conversations were always like this. Short questions were always answered with shorter answers, and sometimes the silence between them lasted so long that they forgot the sound of each other's voices.

There was always something, there, though, hovering in the air. Something that neither of them wanted to face. The desire to have companionship, but the unwillingness to betray their former loves.

"No one will remember us when we're gone," Kaido said. "No one will care."

"Not a single person."

That was the most depressing part of all of it. They were both scum; all of the gang members of every gang were nothing more than scum. They were born into a world that should never have existed, and normal people despised them. 

Normal people knew nothing about them -- only that they were thieves and murderers. Kaido didn't blame them for their hatred, but he wished that everything could be different. He wished that he could be one of them. He had a feeling that he never would, even if he tried to pretend. He would always be scum, deep down.

"Why do the gangs fight each other?"

"I guess it's power," Sanada replied. "I've never been able to understand it."

"Hate that's handed down for generations. Why don't I feel any of it?"

"Some people are different. Some people care. They're the ones who die."

Kaido thought of Inui, of how he'd tried to change things for everyone; of how he'd almost succeeded, and then...Yes, he knew what Sanada meant by that. 

"I think I do feel some of the hatred," Kaido admitted, "But it's toward my own gang, and it's new leader."

"He killed the one you loved. I don't think it's possible not to hate him."

"How did you know that I loved him?" Kaido asked. He'd never said that.

"The same way you knew that I loved Yukimura, even though I never said much about him."

"We're both the same, aren't we?" Kaido closed his eyes, and leaned back. "Do you want to die?"

"Yes."

"Why do you keep on living?"

"Because Yukimura would have wanted it that way," Sanada replied.

"He was that kind of person?"

"Yes."

"You must miss him."

Sanada made no reply to that. The answer was obvious, anyway. Kaido regretted bringing it up.

The usual silence filled the air again, and stretched on, and on. Neither could forget the conversation. They both had nightmares about the loneliness. Nightmares that did not fade in the waking hours.

Kaido woke from one of those nightmares screaming, to find Sanada shaking him gently.

"I'm sorry," Kaido said. "I woke you."

Sanada shook his head. "Don't apologize for that."

"I am sorry, though. I'm a burden, in all ways."

"No."

"But..."

"Stop doing that. I want you here, Kaido. I want you to stay."

"Sanada, I --"

Kaido couldn't speak, because Sanada's lips were pressed against his own. Sanada wasn't Inui, but Kaido couldn't help but respond. He was so very lonely, and Sanada was right there with him; warm and kind.

"I'll stay always," Kaido whispered, in between kisses, and he lost himself in that warmth.

Sanada was smoking, while seated at the windowsill and looking out at the city lights. Kaido approached him, feeling almost embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," Sanada said. "I'm not sure what came over me."

"You don't have to be sorry for that," Kaido said. "Can't we at least have each other, for now?"

"I loved Yukimura."

"Yes."

Sanada put out the cigarette, and looked at Kaido with the saddest eyes he'd ever seen. 

"I won't forget him, ever."

"I know."

Kaido moved over to him, and without any more words, they were locked in a tight embrace. Neither wanted to let go ever again.

Kaido woke, and noticed that Sanada was no longer beside him. He could hear Sanada's voice, and one that he did not recognize, in the other room. He peered out of the bedroom door.

There was a silver-haired man there. It was obvious that he belonged to a gang, from the look of his clothes. The leather pants and leather jacket were dirty, and torn, and there was something that was definitely not a cigarette between his fingers.

"I came to get you back," the silver-haired man said. "You can be my second."

"Wouldn't Yagyuu be upset?"

"He'd get over it."

"I left the gang, Niou. I'm not going back."

"We need your skills."

"That's too bad."

"You --" Niou's eyes turned to where Kaido was standing. Kaido moved back a step. He'd been seen.

"Who's this?" Niou asked. "He's wearing an out-dated bandana."

"He's none of your business. Get out of my apartment."

"I've found you, Sanada, and I'm not going to let you go," Niou said. "You're too valuable." He gave a little wave, and then disappeared out of the door.

"He is the new leader of my former gang," Sanada said, before Kaido could ask any questions. 

"What are you going to do about him?"

"I don't know. I'll have to leave here, or he's going to try something. I have to run away again." Sanada dropped onto the couch. It was falling apart, just like everything else in the apartment. "I'm very tired."

Kaido knew that he was not tired from lack of sleep, but tired of his life. He sat beside Sanada, and leaned against him, offering support.

"You're tired too, though, aren't you?"

Kaido nodded. Yes, he was incredibly tired...but he could keep going, if Sanada was there.

"We have to leave here right away. It's time for you to leave the bandana behind," Sanada said.

Kaido didn't want to. It was almost like throwing away Inui and replacing him with Sanada -- but he knew in his heart that he wasn't, because no one could ever replace Inui. He carefully folded the bandana, and put it between the cushions of the couch. 

"I might see it again one day," he said. 

"I hope that you do. Do you want to come with me, or go on your own? I won't make you stay with me."

"I told you I would, already," Kaido said. "I keep my promises."

Sanada nodded. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"I don't know. We'll find out," Sanada replied. That was good enough for Kaido. They left the apartment and the bandana behind them.

TBC


	4. Part 4

Part 4

Kaido had slept out on the streets more often than not, so he was used to it. Sanada probably was, as well. It was a cold night, but there had been many nights that were much colder. Inui had always been there to keep him warm. Now Sanada was with him.

"Are you cold?" Sanada asked.

"It's fine."

Sanada had his back to the wall of an alley, and Kaido was resting against him, with his head pressed to Sanada's chest. It was not the most comfortable way to sleep, but it was better than not sleeping at all.

"You sleep first," Sanada said. "I'll wake you in a couple of hours." It would be suicide if they both slept at the same time. One person needed to keep watch. 

"No, you sleep first," Kaido said.

"No --"

"I don't feel like arguing," Kaido said. "If you don't sleep first, I'll knock you out."

Sanada laughed. Kaido was startled, because he had never heard Sanada laugh before.

"You're a stubborn bastard," he said.

"So are you. Go to sleep."

Sanada closed his eyes. Soon, his breathing slowed. Kaido watched his sleeping face for hours.

Kaido had drifted off, and was rudely awakened by someone grabbing him. His first thought was that he'd been stupid enough to fall asleep without waking Sanada first.

"I found you."

"Niou!" Sanada woke when Kaido was torn away from him, and found his former gang member holding a knife to his throat.

"I told you I'd have you back. It looks like you care about this guy more than you let on back at your apartment, so I'll keep him for a while. If you want him back, you'll have to come and get him." Niou grinned. "If you can beat us, you can have him. If not, then you'll have to join us in order for him to live."

Sanada wanted to fire a bullet right into Niou's head, but he no longer carried a gun. All he had was a small knife, which would do no good when Niou held Kaido hostage. There was nothing he could do.

"Don't do it," Kaido said. "Just keep running."

"Isn't that sweet," Niou cooed.

"Keep running, and live for him," Kaido said. Niou pulled him away. Sanada watched them go, feeling as powerless as the day he hadn't been able to save Yukimura's life.

He wanted to keep running, and forget Kaido. He wanted to leave anything to do with the gang life behind...

They would kill Kaido if he didn't go. 

He knew where to find them.

"Finding you was very good luck." Niou grinned at Kaido, who was bound and gagged, and could only glare back at him. "I didn't think he'd fall for someone so soon after Yukimura. The bastard, betraying him like that."

It almost sounded as if Niou cared. Maybe he did. Kaido wanted to tell Niou that he wasn't a replacement for Yukimura, and would never try to be, but the gag in his mouth prevented it.

"You sure he's from Inui's gang?" asked one of Niou's gang members. He had curly black hair, and a wild look in his eyes. "He looks pretty weak."

"Come on, Kirihara, think of the way Inui led them. Of course he's weak," Niou replied. "That gang's not Inui's anymore, though, it's Hiyoshi's."

Hiyoshi. The name made Kaido want to scream. He struggled against his bindings, to no avail.

"Niou."

"Yeah?" Niou turned to the man with the glasses that had just arrived in the doorway.

"You have a visitor."

"I knew he'd come. Send him in."

The man came back with Sanada in tow, and Kaido felt his heart sinking in his chest. He'd told Sanada not to bother with him. He should have run, and honoured the memory of Yukimura.

He was happy, though. As happy as he could ever be, really. Sanada had come for him. That meant so much.

"Let him go, Niou. I'm here."

"The deal was that you fight us," Niou said. "If you lose, you're ours."

"I won't lose."

"You can't win, when it's six against one, especially when we've got Kirihara on our side," Niou said. "Face it, Sanada. You belong to this gang."

Sanada clenched his fists. "I do not belong to this gang, and I know for a fact that it won't be six against one. Yanagi won't raise a fist against me."

"Are you so sure? His loyalty has changed, after all," Niou said. 

"Not him," Sanada said. "Everyone else, but not him." Sanada knew Yanagi too well. He hated the gangs almost as much as he and Yukimura did, but he'd never considered leaving. He had accepted his fate as it was. Still, he'd always been loyal to Sanada, and he knew that would never change, not for any reason.

"Even if you're right, it's still five against one, Sanada."

"I've beaten worse odds than that."

"If you lose, we're going to kill him anyway. Are you willing to take that chance?"

Sanada looked past Niou to Kaido. "I won't lose." For Yukimura, for Kaido, and for himself, he had to win.

"Fight us, then, if you're so sure," Niou said. He gave a whistle, and the rest of his gang appeared.

Sanada readied himself for a fight that he could not afford to lose, but there was no hope of winning.

"Stop."

The voice had enough power to halt the would-be attackers.

"Don't hurt him."

"I am the leader here, not you," Niou said. "You have no right to order my gang around, Yanagi."

"I don't care how you lead us," Yanagi said. "I don't care what you have us do, most of the time, but this I refuse. He was our leader."

"He left us."

"Yes, and we should just leave it at that," Yanagi said. "He won't give us any trouble."

"We need his skills," Niou said.

"Really? I think we can get by without him."

"You can't --"

"Niou. We both know that I could kill you in an instant and take over this gang myself. If you follow this one order, then that won't have to happen."

"I'll kill you," Niou growled.

"You don't have that power."

Niou's teeth were clenched when he turned to Sanada, and told him to get lost before he changed his mind. Sanada untied Kaido, and they left together.

It was surreal. Kaido could hardly believe that this was happening. How could they get off so easily? There had to be a catch.

"Be careful in the real world, Genichirou," Yanagi said to Sanada, as they walked past. "Make Seiichi proud."

"I will," Sanada promised. 

It was safe enough to return to the apartment. Niou would leave them alone, now, or he would have to face Yanagi's wrath. 

The bandana was waiting for Kaido when they entered. He took it, and he threw it out of the window. It was time to say goodbye, though he would never forget.

"Thank you for coming for me," he said.

"You would have done the same for me." It was almost a question.

"Yes, I would have."

Smiles were very rare for people such as them, but they shared a smile that night.

"Yagyuu, I want you to take a little peaceful message to Hiyoshi," Niou said. "Tell him that I know where one of his former members is. A member that tried to run away."

Yagyuu nodded, and left to carry out the order. A feeling of satisfaction settled itself into Niou's heart. He may never be able to touch Sanada, but at least this way he would be able to ruin Sanada's little boy toy.

Sanada had never deserved Yukimura's love. He deserved to suffer. Whether that was by being forced to be in the gang he hated, or have the new love of his life die didn't matter. As long as he suffered.

TBC


	5. Part 5

A/N: ff.net doesn't like my squiggly things anymore. (I use them to separate scenes, to make the story make sense.) So if things are confusing, let me know, and I'll find an alternative method.  
  
Part 5

Two weeks passed quietly. Kaido found himself a job, and between the two of them, they were finally able to pay the rent and have enough to eat.

Sanada decided to give up smoking, since Kaido didn't, and they really couldn't afford the cigarettes, anyway. It was hard, and for those two weeks, he hated everything. Everything except for Kaido, who encouraged him, and kept him sane.

"It's almost like coming off the drugs, only it hurts less, for a lot longer," Sanada said, as he lay in bed, craving a cigarette.

"I never did any drugs."

Sanada was surprised. "Most do."

"I know. Inui kept me away from them. He had hope for me."

"You're lucky."

"I know that."

Sanada closed his eyes. "Maybe I can sleep this off."

Kaido moved and rested his head against Sanada's chest. "I'll help you."

"You always do."

Kaido was at home alone, waiting for Sanada to return from his job, when he heard the window break.

Hiyoshi stood in the living room, holding a gun in his hand. He held it up, and aimed at Kaido.

"You're supposed to be dead," he growled. "I had them kill you."

"I lived through it."

"Which is why I'm back to blow your freaking brains out!"

The door opened, and Sanada arrived just in time to stop Hiyoshi from firing. He knocked the gang leader to the ground.

The gun went off. Kaido was afraid to see where it had hit. There was blood on the floor.

"Sanada!"

"I'm fine." There was a bloody hole in Sanada's hand, but at least he was alive. He held Hiyoshi's gun in the other hand, and he was restraining the man by sitting on him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Kaido demanded.

"I discovered your new address through certain sources," Hiyoshi replied. "I came to finish you off. I don't like unfinished business, especially when it involves traitors."

"You killed Inui. I wasn't about to follow you."

"That's how new leaders come into power," Hiyoshi said. "The weaker men die, and stronger men take over. That is how it works."

Kaido wanted to kill him. He took the gun from Sanada, and pointed it at Hiyoshi's forehead. It would be so very easy to kill him...

"I never want you to have blood on your hands, Kaido. I want you to be as normal as you can be, even if you can't belong to the outside world. I'll protect you, always."

"Bastard," Kaido hissed, and he threw the gun into Hiyoshi's face, hard enough to knock him out.

"I don't want to kill him, but he's going to keep coming back here," Kaido said.

"Then we'll just run away again." Sanada stood, and left Hiyoshi on the floor where he was.

Kaido reached for Sanada's injured hand. "This is bad. I don't know if I can stitch it."

"Do your best. I don't really care if it falls off. You're alive."

The words made Kaido blush. Any show of kindness from Sanada made him feel happier than he had any right to be. He was falling in love again, even though he'd sworn not to. He had a feeling that Inui would be happy for him, though. Inui had always wanted him to be happy.

Kaido stitched Sanada's hand as best as he could, and then they left, for places unknown, once again.

Kaido loved riding behind Sanada on his motorcycle, even if they were headed for their doom. He loved pressing his face into Sanada's back, and pretending that there was nothing but the freedom of the moment.

They really had nowhere to go. This time it was not going to be as easy as the last, because there would be no Yanagi to save them. No one in Hiyoshi's gang felt any special attachment or loyalty to Kaido. He'd always been Inui's favorite, and for that he'd been resented by some; others just didn't care either way.

It was very late, and they both needed sleep. Neither wanted to sleep, though, since last time they'd tried that, Kaido had been kidnapped.

"I'm sorry about last time," Kaido said. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"You've apologized for that already. It's not your fault," Sanada said. "We were both tired."

They were both tired now, but they couldn't stop riding. Hiyoshi could be behind them.

"Do you think we'd have enough money for some kind of cheap motel?" Kaido asked.

"The money would run out fast that way."

"We have to do something."

"I know."

Despair was sinking in. There was no hope. At least they had each other.

It was too late to try and think of a better plan, anyway. There was a motorcycle behind them.

Actually, when Kaido turned back to look, there was more than one. There were three.

"He's coming," he said.

"I can hear him."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop doing that," Sanada said. "There's nothing to be sorry about."

"If you die here --"

"It will be worth it."

Kaido smiled into Sanada's back. "I guess it will."

Sanada was already going as fast as he could. Hiyoshi's bike soon caught up to them. He lifted the gun, and pointed it at them.

Fighting on motorcycles was something that Sanada was all too familiar with. It was the main way that the gangs fought each other. Sanada had become very good at it -- when he had a gun, a longer knife, or a series of throwing knives. Now, he had none of those things.

He felt Kaido's arms tighten around his waist. Another motorcyle pulled up on the other side, and the third caught up behind them.

"Thank you for everything," Kaido said.

This was the end. Sanada had many regrets, but dying like this wouldn't be one of them.

I'll see you soon, Yukimura.

TBC!!!


	6. Part 6

A/N: This is the last part!! I'm sorry for leaving you all hanging. Of course I won't kill poor Kaido or poor Sanada! They've suffered enough. Unfortunately, I've been working on the rest of the Warlords series, and many people die who really deserve only happiness...(sniffle) I feel bad for being so depressing, but I have angst in my blood. (or something) Ah, please enjoy the end, and look out for Warlords #2, which I will post soon. (And I'll fix it so that the sections are separated, hopefully. I fixed that in this chapter, sorry that the rest of the story is messed up. I'll go back and fix it when I stop feeling so lazy.)  
  
Part 6

The bullet connected with Sanada's shoulder. The pain clouded his vision, and the bike swerved. The other bike to his right veered to avoid him, and he went into the ditch.

The wind was knocked out of him, but he was pretty sure nothing was broken. He ripped the helmet off his head, and went to Kaido, who was underneath the bike.

"Kaido!"

"I'm fine," he said. Sanada helped him up.

"You won't be for long." Hiyoshi and two of his gang members were standing above them.

"Hiyoshi. Why can't you just leave me alone?" Kaido asked. "You already put me through hell as it is."

"I don't care how you feel, I just want you dead," Hiyoshi said. "If you're alive, you might get us into trouble, by going to the police."

Kaido had considered doing just that, but he'd been afraid to go to jail himself. Besides, he hated Hiyoshi, but he would never betray the gang. He'd grown up in it, and as much as he hated it, he was still loyal.

The gangs were going to die out on their own, anyway.

Sanada and Kaido crawled out of the ditch, and faced Hiyoshi and his gang.

Sanada stepped out in front of Kaido. There was a bloody wound in his shoulder, and his hand was dripping with blood again -- but he didn't feel the pain at all.

"I won't let you kill him," he growled. He had failed to protect Yukimura, but he would die protecting Kaido.

"Isn't that nice." Hiyoshi snapped his fingers. "Akutsu. Momoshiro."

"Hiyoshi, I'm not doing it." The spiky-haired thug backed away. "I'm not doing this anymore. Everyone else is dead because of your leadership, and I'm not going to kill him."

Kaido was shocked. Everyone else was dead? There had been at least twenty gang members before he'd been beaten almost to death.

"Momoshiro, I'm warning you..."

"I don't care about your warnings," Momoshiro said. "I never liked Kaido, but I don't hate him. He's a better guy than you are."

Hiyoshi raised his gun, and shot Momoshiro. The other collapsed to the ground.

"Momo!"

Hiyoshi whirled to face the other gang member. "Akutsu? You want to try anything?"

Akustu shrugged. "I'll kill him, I don't care." He lunged forward, knife in hand. Sanada met him halfway. His good hand was injured, but that wasn't going to stop him from protecting Kaido.

Hiyoshi pointed his gun at Kaido. "Good night, bitch."

"No!" Sanada tried to stop him, but Akutsu stabbed him in the leg. He fell.

Kaido was running, as fast as he could. He knocked Hiyoshi to the ground before he could fire, and wrestled the gun out of his hands. It hit the ground and skid away.

Hiyoshi pulled a knife from a sheath at his belt, and plunged it into Kaido's chest.

"No!"

Sanada knocked Akutsu to the ground, and ran for Kaido.

Hiyoshi scrambled backwards, and reached for his gun. It was no longer where it had landed. A shot was fired, and a surprised look appeared on Hiyoshi's face, before the life left his body.

Momoshiro dropped the gun. "It's done. I think I'm too late, though." He dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach.

"Kaido...speak to me." Sanada had only ever cried once in his lifetime, and that had been the day Yukimura died. He was close to tears, now.

"Sanada. Thank you for everything," Kaido said.

"You don't have to keep saying that."

"I know." Kaido reached up to touch Sanada's face, and then he closed his eyes. He wanted to sleep.

He wanted to sleep so badly.

"No!"

-----

Sanada had never been in a hospital. He didn't like it, but there was no other option. He'd been stitched up, and he was going to be just fine, they said.

Momoshiro had died a few hours after he'd been brought in. The nurse had been puzzled when she'd relayed Momoshiro's last words to Sanada.

"He told me to tell you that he's sorry, and he hopes that you'll forgive him for not doing it sooner," the nurse said. "I don't know what he meant."

"That's fine. I do."

Kaido was in critical condition. The knife had not pierced his heart, but it had come very close. The doctors didn't know if he would live or not.

Sanada sat in the waiting room for hours. He was waiting for them to figure out who he was. It was surprising that they hadn't asked questions about his attire, or the reason that they had so many bullet wounds.

He was waiting for them to tell him the words that he dreaded hearing "He's dead."

"He'll pull through."

Sanada's heart started beating again. He rushed to Kaido's room, and knelt beside the bed.

"Don't scare me ever again," he said. Kaido was sleeping, and couldn't hear him, but it didn't matter. He would wake up, and Sanada would be able to say the words again.

-----

The police were quite angry to find the hospital room empty. They had been called to check out some people with suspicious wounds, but they were gone.

"They must have been part of those gangs that are around," said one officer to the other.

"They keep slipping through our fingers. We'll get those punks, one day."

-----

Kaido was grateful to be alive. He'd wanted to die not too long ago, but he had something to live for, now.

"That was my second near-death experience, and I didn't see any flash of light," Kaido said. "I didn't see Inui calling for me, either."

"He was there," Sanada said.

"I know."

"What do you think will happen to Akutsu?" Sanada asked. The man had been unconscious, but alive, when he'd rushed Momoshiro and Kaido to the hospital.

"I think he'll just disappear. He only followed orders when he felt like it, or when he was bored. He never really cared about anything."

"He seemed like the type to enjoy killing."

"That's what everyone thought, but...he had a friend, once." Kaido remembered Dan Taichi well. He'd been a cute little boy, totally unsuited to the harsh gang world. "That friend died. Akutsu sort of lost his will to do anything after that."

"We're all the same, in the end."

"Where are we going?" Kaido asked.

"Home," Sanada replied. "No one will ever bother us again."

"Home." Kaido had never known any home before. It was a nice feeling.

"Home. No more gangs, no more guns, no more fighting, no more death." Sanada found himself almost looking forward to that bleak future that he'd been dreading only months before. Kaido was with him, now. He was certain that somewhere, Yukimura was smiling down at him, proud that he was still living, and trying to keep living.

"Will you stay with me there, Kaido?"

"I'll stay with you, always," Kaido promised. He always kept his promises.


End file.
